Medal hopeful Gunn Rita Dahl-Flesjå was determined to give her best in the Women's Mountain Biking after she had a disappointing ride in the 2008 Olympics.

She had a tough start at Hadleigh Farm in Essex, falling off her bike in the first technical downhill in the cross-country. A puncture just minutes later was more bad news, and she fell behind to 27th place, 54 seconds behind the leader.

Norwegian commentators still believed she had a chance on her Merida mountain bike as she moved to 18th place, but another puncture shortly after ended any hopes of a medal. Dahl-Flesjå called it a day with 2 laps remaining. Julie Bresset of France won Gold in 1.30:52.

Andreas Thorkildsen competed in the final of the javelin later on in the day. He was after his third gold Olympic medal.

The 30-year-old from Kristiansand, southern Norway had a poor start. Only two of six throws made it over 80 meters, unlike his performance in Beijing in 2008 where he threw to 90.57 meters. Thorkildsen had suffered an injury during the European Championships last year.

Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago was the winner of the gold medal in Javelin with a throw of 84.58 meters.

"I'm disappointed. Injuries just aren't good for the technical side of this sport,” Thorkildsen is quoted as saying after the finals were over. “Things just aren't where they should be, It's been a year since I was on top form. There are highs and lows but this is the lowest point (for me)."

When asked by NRK if he wanted to watch a replay of his performance, the athlete said, "it's just not worth watching. I'm disappointed. Maybe I'll do it next year."

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